


UBRARY OF CONGRESS 









A LECTURE 



ON 



What You Missed 



IN NOT VISI 



of '""Gut 




'^H. 



THE WORLD'S FAIR. 







COI'^■RU;HT API'LIED FOR IN 1895, BY 
MRS. .MARK STEVENS, 

(Author of "Six Months at the World's Fair.") 



A LECTURE 



ON 



^^A/^HAX YOU MISSED 



IN NOT VISITING 



THE AVORLD'S FAIR. 



It seemed the crowning year in the world's history of 
grandeur and glory, for all sciences and arts from rude 
beginnings were represented, leading us into the fullness 
of perfection ; and we felt that there had been reached an 
eventful epoch in the world's history, so marked, as to 
awaken mingled emotions of profoundest thought, even 
of sacred joy, as were presented to us themes for thought 
and inquiry, and, in vain we tried to measure to the fullest 
extent the great work which had been assigned to the 
officials of the World's Fair, in wisest ways, from God 
Himself, who had given His watchful care over an under- 
taking which brought us near, oh! so near, to His wonderful 
love toward the children of men. How we all appreciated 
and improved our opportunities, "of coming into His king- 
dom at such a time as this," the decisive answer can onlv 
come in the final day from God Himself, Who caused hu- 
manity to be imbued with wisdom, to create a marble-like 
city, which seemed in touch with the infinite, and to give 



/US a glimpse of the Celestial City whicli encircles the Eter- 
"^^nkl Throne. 

The ultimate good accomplished in bringing together 
the great from the nations of the earth will not remain an 
unknown history, for all that was accomplished in the 
many congresses of religion, temperance, and others by 
words of helpful cheer and wisdom, lent by good men and 
women, are fully recorded by Him Who in the presence 
of the assembled world will unfold their records made for 
a final report. Then shall all be made plain, that which 
awakened new aspirations and high ideals to be striven 
for, leaving in their wake memories most tender and sacred 
which were there awakened, and to-night we bring forth 
from the most hallowed recesses of the soul, the cultiva- 
tion, unfolding, budding, blossoming, and fruiting which 
is yet to receive the final tintage, from the Son of Right- 
eousness, which mellowing into a ripeness of enduring 
heaven, will be gathered by the soft hand of paternal love, 
into His kingdom of light. To those who visited the 
World's Fair we pause with them to retrospect upon the 
friends and associations connected with them, of the 
places where we met and parted, perhaps not to meet again 
on earth, but in a better land. So, in a silent procession, 
events and friends pass in review before us. How familiar 
each face in our favorite building or resting place; that 
particular painting or piece of statuary, or design of archi- 
tecture; and hundreds of thoughts come crowding in which 
we remember enthused us with holier ambitions; and we 
regard these, as we do shadows of faces which were once 
the windows of the human soul, noting how familiar each 
eye and facial expression, until they seem ready to speak 
and take part in our routine of life; for, as years pass by, 
and friends are gathered one by one into the better home, 
they yet silently speak and do for Him. But from these 
comforting, yet some might say peculiar thoughts, we 
turn from them, to speak of the eminent people who in- 



cessantly labored to give to the world so great a thing as 
the Columbian Exposition, while it seemed their enthusi- 
asm was strengthened by the very spirit of Columbus him- 
self. 

Space will not permit the mention of but a few of the 
leaders; President Palmer, Michigan's own; Director 
General Davis, a king among men ; Mrs. President Palmer, 
a queen among women, and the idol of all. Besides these, 
thousands worked in concerted action with them. How 
they all toiled, both in thinking and working, night and 
day, from the beginning of the great undertaking to the 
brilliant end, can never be measured in words. Their 
works will follow them into eternity; for they stand out on 
the canvas of our memories, enlarged and beautified a 
thousand fold, by the sanctified heat of love towards these 
who gave of their wealth, strength and thoughts to the suc- 
cessful culmination of the grandest event ever known, and 
it is hardly expected that such a treat will ever be repeated. 

Memory revels through those bygone scenes, and while 
tears start, we yet exult that we have seen the good and 
honored people with which the world is filled, who con- 
tributed a scene of beauty and peace, which has qualified 
all for a thousand fold enjoyment of greater bliss in the 
White City on high. 

We would not forget to pay reverence and respect to 
those who handled the hammer and nail, or hoisted, by the 
aid of pulleys, gigantic statuary to roofs and niches of 
dizzy heights. 

Yes, it took brave and fearless men to climb over scaf- 
folding built so high that they appeared dwarfed in size 
as they, or the decorators, were drawn up by pulleys hun- 
dreds of feet high, to narrow scantlings upon which they 
seated themselves, perhaps soon to fall to terra-firma a 
mangled, bleeding mass. Their works do follow them, 
and as they entered the Heavenly portals we doubt not 
thousands of melodious voices poured forth in song the 
welcome. 



G • 

These came through paths of noble duty, thorny the wa}^ 
yet blossoming the while into divinest duty, into heaven's 
beauty, meeting God's smile. 

In many respects, while in the White City, especially 
in the Court of Honor, were we reminded, "Is not this a 
j model of the new Jerusalem?" It did not, neither will it 
ever, cease to be an object lesson for good to uncounted 
thousands, for it ever was gazed upon with a feeling akin 
to reverence, causing all to feel the palace gates of a 
typical heaven had been thrown wide open, and for a time 
all were allowed to enter in, while gladness beamed in 
every eye; and as the mournful cadence of the "Vacant 
Chair" chimed from "Liberal Arts," we wondered how 
much more beautiful was the real citv where shall be met 
loved ones that here are missed. 

Then a sublimely grand chorus of six hundred voices, 
accompanied by the Exposition Band of sixty pieces or 
more, directed by the batons of Profs. Tomilson and 
Thomas, sang, "I Would Not Live Always, I Ask Not to 
Stay," and we in our inmost heart of hearts understood 
whv. 

Here, as everywhere in the White City, was found the 
grave and great of every clime. Strangely garbed people 
of every nation, and a prophec}^ came floating into our 
memory which sounded something like this, "And in the 
last days He shall gather together all the nations of the 
earth." 

This place gave the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness, filled the soul with holy laughter, carried the 
spirit up and away in chariots of lovely flame, to the climes 
of light and eternal love. But all this material glory 
passed away, leaving with all, we trust, a new spiritual 
awakening, which reaches out ever towards the city of 
eternal splendor which will abide for ever, as we know 
did not these marble-like temples, topped and ornamented 
with grand statuary, those classic figures which looked 



like Parian marble, the Peristyle topped with represen- 
tations of literature and all arts, the golden Statue of 
Liberty fronting these, while everywhere were millions of 
gleaming lights reflecting into the water and streaming 
over the broad white roadways edged by marble-like pal- 
aces, while the rich strains of music produced within us 
highest and holiest enthusiasm which throbbed through 
the soul with the strength of ocean tides, until it seemed 
that a divine sanctity pervaded the atmosphere, while His 
sweet and tender presence attuned the heart to divinest 
melody; yet this sunk into nothingness, and was vanity 
compared with the thought of God's great temples, made 
without hands, which line golden-paved streets. 

More than ever we realize that God is our one summit, 
and He alone is great, and we thank Him for giving to the 
world an effect which was deep, far reaching, tender and 
refining, and which should have enthused all with divine . 
ambition for a better life. 

Imagine a glorious blue sky and sunlight. This light- 
ing up to our view the marble-like city and if, perchance, 
it was enveloped in a misty fog, it seemed like a phantom 
city whose domes, colonnades and towers lost all solidity, 
becoming a dreamy vision of architecture and a creation 
of vague scenery about a phantom crowd whose forms 
were so obliterated as to become moving spots, while a 
confused, muffled hum became the faintest murmur, which 
seemingly was caused by the fog. There was no longer a j 
chorus of individual words, but it sounded more like a 
grand concert given by the anon^'-mous voices of nature, 
or the plaint of a stormy element. Our first glimpse of 
the city was of dazzling brilliancy, but it was given a 
legendary charm as the misty fog rolled over it, illustra- 
ting in the effacement of the past, that we must realize the 
melancholy touch which is required to be placed in every 
human masterpiece to make it truly beautiful. 

How enchanting it was on a glorious sunny morning, 



8 

to saunter down broad streets, lying between marble-like 
palaces, then by the lagoons, over which floated, like white- 
winged messengers of peace, seagulls, dipping the water, 
then, frightened, taking their noiseless flight, only to 
quickly return and flit about the electric launches, the 
gondolas, or look in wonder on the ducks, swans or foreign 
birds contentedly paddling about the white bridges, 
which were guarded by mounted knights, polar bears, 
reindeers or other objects in white, equally as interesting. 

Passing over the bridge, situated between the Illinois 
and Woman's Building, we find ourselves on Wooded 
Island; passing the Japanese pagodas; then over another 
bridge and we are at the tea houses. On past buildings 
belonging to foreign countries, stopping by Germany to 
look over the green waste of Lake Michigan's waters, 
walking by its edge, passing by the Victoria House, the 
battleship Illinois, the old Norse ship. Fish and Fisheries, 
Life-saving Service, the Government Building, bristling 
about it cannons and stacked arms. This, accompanied 
with the roll of drums and bugle calls; while on the north 
side of the building were pitched hundreds of tents, which 
were the headquarters of thousands of United States 
troops, under strict military discipline of their superior 
officers. Walking the length of the shaded portals of 
Liberal Arts, stopping for refreshments, partaking of the 
never-failing sandwiches, doughnuts and a cup of the ever 
present Chase and Sanborn coffee, best we had ever tasted; 
yet we passed by people, seated at tables, upon which 
were schooners of foaming "something," whose partakers 
pronounced the best they had ever tasted. 

At last we are on the grand old Peristyle, walking be- 
tween its great white fluted columns, and now a greater 
fairy charm clothes the scene that it is forever removed 
from us, and as memory recalls it distantly, indistinctly 
with that conjured, almost supernatural charm, wrought 
by the magic hand of humanity, though it has become a 



drifting vapor, it yet remains a most precious treasure of 
the soul, the poetry of reminiscence, which power has 
transformed sensations into thoughts, images into ideas, 
the feast of the eyes into food for the mind, pleasures and 
emotions into precepts, and it is a truthful assertion to 
make, since the Fair is now a thing of the past, that ideas 
gleaned by people who visited it, are broader and much 
altered, for it was a colossal experience to all. Just how 
their ideas and opinions have changed we leave to the 
edict of time. 

There was astonishing rendezvous presented us of in- 
dustry and art, pleasure and study. 

In Chicago, the young metropolis of the west, was all 
this created and consummated; and her representative 
Hgure of the strong, handsome-looking young girl, with 
firmly planted feet, wearing upon her breastplate the 
words "I will," shows the defiant, joyous spirit which 
dominated, and ever will dominate, the people of the 
"Queen City" of the west, which is yet expanding and 
growing like a gigantic plant, which seems fairly in ad- 
vance of this age, for in building the White City they 
seemed imbued with Emerson^s idea, who has said, "Why 
need we copy the Doric or Grothic models when beauty, 
convenience and grandeur of thought are as near to us 
as any art." 

Those enormous splendid palaces of a day, so 
ingeniously constructed with Aladdin-like magic by the 
shores of a free inland sea, have announced the birth of 
new art, and we now realize the absolute originality of 
Emerson's dream. 

This is one of the helpful lessons of the many which the 
White City has left behind, to the innumerable spectators, 
gathered from the four corners of the universe, that the 
merely colossal, unaccompanied by grace and symmetry, 
can no longer satisfy the tastes of their builders; to all it 
was an indelible object lesson. 



10 

It has often been said of the visitors that they were so 
anxious to see everything that they forgot to be amused. 
That was not entirely true; yet everywhere could be seen 
the serious attention of minds, imperfectly grasping new 
ideas, some with a look of pride and thankful appreciation, 
others with a look of careless curiosity; and we tired of 
hearing the phrase, "these are rustics"; for if perchance 
you should place yourself in the martyr-like attitude, of 
persecution, to read the book entitled "Six Months at the 
World's Fair," you will find that all breaks which are 
usually laid at the door of the rustic, are shouldered onto 
the New Yorkers or Bostonites. Does it not strike you 
as a huge joke upon them to picture, for instance, a New 
York man, his hat resting on the back of his head, his hair 
combed in straight bangs over his forehead, a cigar resting 
so far back in his mouth that it pushes out his cheek, his 
fingers digging in the very bottom of his pockets, and 
snarling out, "I hain't got my money's worth, hain't seen 
nothing worth coming for;" and if perchance you saw a 
bewildered-looking lady who had entirely lost her cool 
self-possession, and asked in what building the lagoon 
was situated, mark my words it was a Boston lady. For 
we know that the New Yorkers and Bostonites know a 
good thing when they hear or see it, and American-like, 
they do not have to be told that this is a joke upon them; 
and now we have removed from their head their shining 
high hat, their immaculate city-made clothes and placed 
them upon Josh, right straight from the "kentry," who 
gracefully holds the New Yorker's kid gloves in one hand, 
while with his cane in the other hand he waves it grace- 
fully in the air, saying, "Why should not these births of 
great antiquity and mediaevalism, the enchanting 
renaissance of Greece, Italy and others of the old worlds 
have been built to stand forever." Leaving the New 
Yorker in a rage and Josh in a dead faint we leave them, 
hoping they may amicably settle their differences. 



11 

No foreigner of knowledge takes a steamer from their 
port regardless of the fact that it bears them across the 
ocean toward a decisive acquaintance with the greatest 
example ever known — that of audacious American 
modernism. 

All of intelligence know the world in which they live, 
and know the worth of its nobility and grandeur, but we 
know nothing of the unknown worlds whose toilers are 
elaborating with their countless hands; irresistible as those 
of the old fates. We can see those terrible hands destroy- 
ing, but we are ignorant of what they are creating. Why 
try to hide the fact. The best of us realize these two un- 
controllable forces, Democracy and Science, which have 
toiled through centuries with ceaseless activity, and are 
transforming our world, our heritage and all that we love. 

May it not be doubtful if these two geniuses are in 
accord? Does Democracy respect disinterested thought? 
Are letters of scientific speculation incapable of industrial 
application? On the other hand, may not implacable 
science prove at last to be the murderer of the human 
heart, by developing in the extreme the positive side of 
knowledge? Is it not destined to dry up the source of 
mysteries, where for ages the soul has quenched its thirst 
finding its vitality and source? Will the reign of science 
have a poetry? Will it have a better, brighter, more com- 
prehensive and practical religion, which will teach the 
masters lessons of the brotherhood of man? Yes, a 
practical poetry and a practical religion, accompanied by 
new knowledge and the same old-fashioned, heart-felt 
emotions, deeper, tenderer and more enjoyable than we 
now know, because we are taking long, swift strides in 
progressive science, which is giving to the world true 
knowledge of the teachings and life lived by the Master^ 
when on earth. 

In this, the new age of knowledge, we are not to be awed 
by the lessons of truth, so long as its tendency is not to 
remove us, but will bring us closer to His side. 



12 

Let us not suffer from intellectual homesickness, for 
science no longer stands tapping for admission which she 
has already gained, and certain it is, she gives to each a 
thirst for knowledge and creates a deep respect for all 
that constitutes the spiritual and moral treasure house of 
humanity. Is this not a strong and progressive sign of 
the invincible vitality of Christianity? 

There were too many lessons to be learned from the 
great minds who figured in the many congresses and 
othervrise to tell them separately, and as a natural con- 
sequence this talk must seem broken. 

^ Night was the magician of the Fair; by day the illusion 
was not complete. The outlines and masses, the groups 
and spaces, the vistas and perspectives, the lawns and 
lagoons were superb and inspiring; but the glare of sun 
bewildered and revealed too much, leaving a vague sense 
of desolation, which it would seem brooded over a tropical 
city in the desert. The monotonous multitudes which 
wandered to and fro, apparently without interest and en- 
joyment in the marvels by which they were surrounded, 
became oppressive, and the unspeakable debris of innum- 
erable luncheons seemed incompatible with the temples 

. and the porticoes of palaces. But the fair was made for 
man and not man for the fair. So these objectionable 
features, the luncheons, though a necessity, which con- 
tributed towards the comfort of the people, we cannot 
pass by the fact that they were the flaws in the gem or the 
rift in the lute. 

All things coming within the limitations of earthly 
achievement forbid perfection. 

When evening came and the shadows ascended from 
the feet of the golden Statue of Liberty up past the cap 
upon her spear, and the effigies of art, science, religion and 
others shown above the peristyle, then the reign of en- 
chantment began. Discordant and inarticulate murmurs 
were then succeeded by silence, made audible by the 



13 

whisper of falling waters flowing down marble steps;, 
just back of them, the barque of Progress, seated in it 
"Fair Columbia," while "Fame" stood in the prow with 
trumpet heralding their approach, while "Father Time" 
guided with steady hand the rudder. About the barque 
there arose out of the water mythological gods and god- 
desses. Darkness had become mysteriously luminous; 
distant domes grew translucent with interior flame, 
cornices, pediments and colonnades were traced in golden 
beads of fire, pallid pinnacles were etched upon the ebony 
sky, a long light leaped across the lake, and a wild cataract 
of brilliant colors from the electric fountains threw sprays 
ninety feet in air. Gliding noiselessly about the lagoon 
were electric launches and gondolas, freighted with people 
from every clime, making the scene gay with laughter 
and song. 

The subtle pathos of this transitory beauty and splendor 
made an impression too deep to be expressed, for there 
had been conceived, created and loved an ideal which we 
knew must soon vanish like the insubstantial fabric of a 
vision. 

It gleamed like a marvelous mirage, only to disappear 
and be seen no more. All this glory has vanished like the 
flowers, the rainbow or a radiant .sunset, reminding us 
of Burns' epitaph on the "Snowflake in the River," "One 
moment white, then gone forever." But the memory of 
its magnificence is imperishable ; it can never die. Those 
structures are as immortal as the Alhambra and others 
of like nature. 

But the buildings of the White City were more fortunate 
than these, for they never knew decrepitude or decay. 
Art will retain their lineaments and proportions, and they 
will survive in the memories of millions who were charmed 
and elevated by contemplation of them. The wonder that 
these noble artistic conceptions were realized at all is 
increased in the fact that they were realized in Chicago. 



14 

All this would have seemed possible in ancient and opu- 
lent cities with traditions, superfluous wealth, hereditary 
culture, with galleries, museums and schools of art, but 
for the original suggestion to come from Chicago, it was 
received with derision and disdain by the competitors, 
who affected it was not meant as serious, while cynics 
sneered, scoffers jeered at their advertisement of a bid for 
notoriety, saying it partook of the nature of a frontier 
joke, and instead of being given hearty, generous, cordial 
and patriotic co-operation, by some there was manifested 
indifference, jealousy and malevolence. Even those who 
knew the wealth, courage and audacious energy of Chi- 
cago almost held their breath, for the time was short, and 
an enormous amount of money was required. The site 
selected was remote and repulsive, but the same un- 
daunted spirit which had once lifted the city bodily out 
of the ashes of one of the most destructive conflagrations 
of modern times, proved equal to every emergency, only to 
surpass expectations and amaze the world. 

She has firmly established her claim of ranking among 
the great capitals of the world. There were then men 
living who remembered when the great metropolis was 
the worthless suburb of a squalid hamlet upon the far 
frontier, and that Oliver Wendell Holmes had begun to 
charm the world with song, and Gladstone had com- 
menced his extraordinary parliamentary career, before 
the name Chicago was written upon the map. It is futile 
to estimate or measure the lessons of the fair, but they will 
gradually unfold in the future condition of the nation's 
life. 

The number who seriously studied and compared the 
exhibits were small, and but few were presented with the 
opportunity to subject it to a thorough analysis. By the 
majority of visitors it was not attempted, for its immensity 
was appalling. It was an embarrassment of riches which 
the spectator withdrew from in despair. But what was 



15 

lacking in tlie advantage of time was amply rewarded 
in pleasure; while, in general, the public were immensely 
benefited. To millions it was only a carnival, a spectacle, 
a pageant, which they enjoyed as they would a summer 
holiday, strolling through the halls, glancing casually at 
some striking object, then yielding to the invincible fas- 
cination of exterior attractions, wandered by the lake and 
lagoons, returning again and again to the entrancing 
Court of Honor, which fully satisfied the unspoken aspira- 
tions of the soul. 

Others succumbed to the harmless seductions of the 
Midway Plaisance, which was full of human interest; for 
there was found the Congress of Beauty, where the lovely 
Fatima and other ladies of the harem, beautifully adorned, 
sat or reclined on silken cushions and couches. American . 
beauties wore rich robes which came from Worth's. One 
looked upon any type of beauty or costume from every 
country. In other places were found the ^^ad men from 
Borneo," savages from the Cannibal Islands, Algerians, 
Bedouins, Turks, Indians, Laplanders, Japanese, etc., all 
representing the manners, customs and costumes of the 
different countries; but whether there in the palace of^ 
manufactures and liberal arts, or elsewhere, no observer 
could fail to perceive that the path of humanity had been 
upward from the beginning, and that every century had 
been an improvement upon the one preceding it, and that 
development and progress are the laws of the race as well 
as of nature, and that we live in the best age of history 
and upon the most favored portion of the globe. j 

God has smiled upon our nation from its beginning, 
and yet does not withdraw that smile or His loving kind- 
ness; but standing as we do on the summit of time, living 
in the last age of the fulfillment of prophecy, do we pay 
Him the reverential respect, and obey God's holy laws as 
laid down by Him? A deep discussion of this important 
subject cannot now be entered into ; but is it not a terrible 



16 

thing to rush into the face of an Almighty God, making 
excuses as a nation for deliberate national sins, and may 
we not in fear look for the "handwriting" upon the wall? 

From the fact that humanity has never receded from 
civilization and knowledge, but advanced, makes the sins 
of our time seem prominently wicked. Nations have 
decayed, governments have expired, races have become 
extinct, but man has moved, physically, intellectually and 
spiritually, onward and upward. Every person holds it 
within their own will to live on a high plane, and you 
who live upon the higher planes appreciate and under- 
stand these lessons which I very weakly have put forth to 
you, which is another grand lesson learned from the Fair. 

There is infinite consolation in the thought of the 
progress of humanity, for the strongest faith often falters 
in the presence of ignorance, vice, poverty, misery and 
folly of modern society, and pessimism seems the only 
creed; but doubt was banished there, and we know that 
never before have the beneficent energies of education^ 
religion and charity been so active and efficient as now. 
Never before had the means of education or knowledge 
been so nearly adequate to the desire to know, or the 
opportunities of happiness so nearly commensurate with 
a capacity to enjoy; nor could anyone fail to be impressed 
with this thought, that the race had advanced further 
and more rapidly in the last half century than in the 
previous fifty centuries, showing that this of the present 
epoch surpasses in interest and importance all former 
achievements of the human mind. 

The application of steam to land and water transporta- 
tion, which has revolutionized the commerce of the world; 
the telegraph and telephone which have annihilated time 
and space; the spectroscope, which has detected the 
secrets of the universe; the use of anaesthetics, which con- 
quer pain and rob death of its terrors; agricultural 
machinery, which has subjugated the desert; truss, tubu- 



17 

lar and suspension bridges; tlie application of electricity 
for light, heat and power; photography, the phonograph, 
the typewriter and the sewing machine, are a few of the 
intellectual trophies of an era which extends no further 
hack than the incorporating of Chicago and the coronation 
of Queen Victoria. These and many more, all which have 
been in the direction of enriching and enlarging the daily 
life of the masses, alleviating harsh conditions, and equal- 
izing the injustice of destiny. The Fair taught us that 
the humblest artisan of to-day enjoys facilities for im- 
provement, travel, health and happiness, that monarchs 
could not command when America was discovered. The 
example shown on Midway of a Philadelphian working- 
man's home contained conveniences and comforts, which 
were then absent from the palaces of kings. Necessarily 
I speak of much we already know; examples of free schools, 
and universities, which afford to the poor ample access 
to the storehouses of learning which once were the ex- 
clusive possessions of the rich. 

In the Anthropological Building we were instructed in 
hygiene and the laws of health, which is taught in our 
schools, learning how to prolong life. We saw multitudes 
of scientific applications and laboratory devices which 
have diminished the hours of toil, leaving us more leisure 
for rest, study and recreation. The harvest no longer 
yields to the sickle, nor is the weary plowman necessitated 
to tread the furrow, but the jocund farmer drives through 
his fields plowing, planting, and reaping with appliances 
which are a saving of his time and strength. In all that 
makes life worth living, the intelligent American wage- 
worker of to-day lives longer in a single year than did 
Methuselah in all his slow and stagnant centuries. 

Although the emancipation of the American woman is 
far from complete, we may partially assert it is practically 
so. The tendency from subordination to equality has been 
far from being rapid as we could wish for, but her exhibit 



18 

shown in Woman's Building marked a most triumphant 
consummation to her, who, for ages, was the plaything or 
slave of man. Thankful we are, that this applies to but 
few of them in this age. For she is, at least in the United 
States, his acknowledged equal in everything except po- 
litical sovereignty, and this distinction will soon be oblit- 
erated. 

In no way was the part taken by the women in the great 
Exposition a disappointment. It was a striking object 
lesson of the executive capability of woman, and as it was 
their first great opportunity, they showed, to the satisfac- 
tion of all, that they were possessed with self-restraint, 
and comprehensive generalization, proving surely that 
women and men should never be antagonistic rivals, but 
their interests and destinies should be mutual, and their 
example there leads us to believe that the "new" woman 
will remain gentle, refined, retaining her kindly qualities, 
as she manifests to the world her ability to carry out 
business or political matters. Then she, side by side with 
man, will help to accomplish all good, and permit no evil. 

When you see a man sailing on like a great ship of state, 
seemingly alone in a reform for good, take a peep behind 
the great ship, and you will discover that a little tug of 
a woman is putting on steam, and with a generous choo ! 
choo ! is the main power that helps him into the right port 
at last. They are disabled and helpless creatures without 
us, and we know it 

I am not here to give a woman's rights lecture. I leave 
that to the gentlemen who are endowed by the Creator 
with a broad, far-reaching love towards all humanity. If 
you have pro'd and con'd it carefully, tell me, honestly, do 
the pro's not have it? 

As you see, the Fair causes us to stroll into all sorts of 
subjects, until we are dazzled, electrified, and almost hys- 
terical. 

Many went to the Fair in a tame sort of way, especially 



19 

^^Easterners'' with New York glasses on, to see if it was a 
success. They returned glad that they had not missed 
it, and doubtless it comes back to them, as to many others, 
in the watches of the night, the magnificent proportions of 
grace and symmetry of Agricultural, Liberal Arts, Admin- 
istration, etc. The dazzling fire-works, the golden door 
of Transportation, natives of the wilds, wearing some 
clothing, but mostly a smile. Then soaring on the pinions 
of a fascinated imagination, they poise on the wings of 
exalted retrospection, and try to interest the individuals 
who could not get away, but took a pleasure trip in another 
direction, and boasted they cared nothing about the Fair. 
Since then they have been told of its glories, until in sheer 
desperation some of them turn upon entertainers with 
remarks sounding somewhat like this, which certainly 
should dampen the most enthusiastic desire to add to their 
pleasure, as agonizingly they cry out, "I say, give us a rest. 
I did not go to the Fair, and I do not wish to hear your 
infernal ecstacies, nor your long-winded descriptions and 
everlasting prattle about gondolas, plaisances, electrical 
fountains, and general stuff. If you wish me to stay away 
from the Paris Exposition in 1900, just keep right on. I 
hate shows, anyway." 

The people who could not attend the Fair for financial 
reasons, yet had a real desire to go and learn, their hearts 
ache sadly, and ours with them in very sympathy. But 
their embarrassment cannot be compared or measured 
with those who, colloquially speaking, are kicking them- 
selves, because they carried out their boast of not going 
to the Fair, because of their hatred of shows. 

Yes, these people are sadder than the autumn leaves. 
In May they acted mulish and said people who went were 
^^garden asses." In June they sneered and instanced the 
discouraging gate receipts as proof of their superior wis- 
dom. In July they sniffed and said just wait until August 
and cholera will break out. In September they coughed 



20 

meditatively, spoke of the crowds, and admitted had they 
known in time that this particular show was worth seeing^ 
they might have made arrangements to have gone. In 
October they thought swear words in abundance, and were 
conscious that they had been very foolish, yet they were 
determined they would stick it out to the bitter end until, 
perhaps at the very last minute, they made up their minds 
to go, then found every section in the sleeping cars taken, 
and all hotel accommodations gone. Again they most 
wrongly did swear under their breaths, abusing the coun- 
try, its institutions, the railway systems, the management 
of the World^s Fair in particular, and everything in gen- 
eral; but everyone who performed in this irregular man- 
ner will be the first at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and 
will be the last to leave. Then look out for the sweet re- 
venge they will take out on some unfortunate, who can 
go, but won't because they hate shows. 

Too many there were who really could not get away, 
and those who could not afford to go, so they bravely 
stayed at home, and made the best of the picture-papers, 
and listened to the garrulous descriptions given by many^ 
like myself. Shall we grieve for those who did not go, 
so that a tired sister, a public school teacher at a pitiable 
salary (and what abominable salaries are paid most of 
them), could go, or for those who remained at home, pre- 
ferring to miss the enjoyment of the Fair for the sake of 
improvement which it would bring to the young brother 
or sister standing upon the threshold of life with a talent 
for art, mechanics, electric appliances, or perhaps with 
a taste for others than these, taken from hundreds of voca- 
tions which we must hurry by without making mention of. 
Such self-sacrificing ones do not need our sympathy, but 
they have it, and if we possessed a magician's wand so we 
could revive the Fair we would do so, that we might con- 
duct through it the hundreds of thousands who did not see 
it, so that someone else might; since it is so easy to declare 



21 

what one would do if they could. Let us go a little farther 
and imagine ourselves into the bargain millionaires mak- 
ing the first use of our prosperity to have formed a philan- 
thropic stock company, to have conveyed to Chicago "a la 
Windimere," all who were so poor, that they could not 
scrape together or borrow the means to have just one peep 
in the Art Palace, the Court of Honor, or a ride on the 
lagoons. 

There are numerous mourners all over the country who 
have awakened to the consciousness, now that it is too 
late, that they could have afforded the expense after all. 
There were hosts who were wise enough to thrust their 
hands clean to the bottom of the family stocking, rather 
than stay at home. Let us not be hard on them, for it 
was a great temptation to gratify a desire, which it is not 
supposable that the like will ever be presented again. 

There is such a thing in this world as being too econ- 
omical, and drawn down saving-bank books, and empty 
stockings, left strewn along Midway, or lying in the bot- 
tom of the water-ways, gave splendid evidence of our na- 
tional stock of good common sense, and freedom from 
niggardliness. Now, be truthful, have you not decidedly 
more sympathy for those who borrowed a hundred dollars 
to go and the following winter, perhaps the next, too, put 
off the purchase of a suit of clothes and overcoat, or a 
cloak, from the conscientious desire to blot out their in- 
debtedness, than for the conservative folk who stayed at 
home and are a hundred dollars richer? 

Is not the man or woman who is broad-minded enough 
to borrow once or twice in the course of a lifetime, for an 
object which accrues to their benefit, to your mind a truer 
patriot, than the hard-fisted soul who makes no distinction 
between the desire of his children to visit the World's Fair 
and a desire to possess a bow-wow. Many chose the 
cheapest form of extravagance, and feel cheap over it even 
now. 



22 

Another pitiable episode which was enacted probably 
many hundreds of times, was that perpetrated upon the 
young boy or girl whose parents, when asked if they were 
going, with a grave air shook their heads, saying, "Oh, 
no, it would not be worth while for any of us to attend it" 
(this refers to those who could have gone as well as not), 
but how like the beasts at Ephesus, would they have 
fought for an ocean passage to visit Paris, London, or 
Berlin, while alas! they remained away from the Fair, to 
hear the verdict forever refuted, that the exhibition at 
Chicago could not be a success, because it was American ; 
and the outcome is that those who maintained it was 
necessary to go abroad in order to see anything that was 
artistic, or inspiring, have been silenced for all time. 

How pessimists must have opened their eyes at seeing 
the Peristyles, and splendid groups on the Agricultural, 
and other buildings, the MacMonnie's Fountain, the Ad- 
ministration Dome, the graceful landscape gardening, the 
tasteful blending of land and water ways, and the poetic 
beauty of the whole magical "White City." 

How surprised they must have been at the genius, the 
artistic sensibilities, the aspirations, and the greatness of 
their countrymen and countrywomen. But the majority 
of our nation's inhabitants, with true Americanism, went 
expecting perfection, for (nothing is impossible in Amer- 
ica) upon their arrival they did not have to conquer shame- 
faced doubts, and they returned to resume the daily routine 
of their uneventful lives with food for thought, and 
prouder of their great nation than they had ever been. 

Doubtless many have labored up to this time to atone 
for their glorious extravagance, but who will venture to 
forecast the fruits of their sojourn there, or predict the 
consequences to follow, from the impress made on the 
national intelligence, of all they learned there? Who can 
tell the grand effect, or the impetus given to fresh ideas, 
and of inspiration given to wistful minds. 



23 

With profound pity we again remember those who re- 
mained at home; they are our brothers and sisters who 
let slip by from force of circumstances, or by their own 
decision, one of the grand opportunities to learn and enjoy. 
Let us be tactful and not in our jubilant mood force upon 
them our jubilation because we happened to act wiser, or 
were more fortunate than they; for prattling pride and 
self- congratulation would not only be exquisite torture 
to them, but worse; but keeping within bounds they are 
glad to look at photographs, relics, to hear our adven- 
tures, even our descriptions, if they are not dogged into 
their very domestic privacy. 

We believe it to be the aim of all to give pleasure and 
comfort in trying to set forth the Fair, by our individual 
power of language, but, after all, it is a lame attempt, and 
'tis akin to one trying to play upon the violin with one 
string only, an air from one of the old masters. Those 
who attended the Fair have had their happiness from it, 
and its joy remains with them; and the least one can do is 
to respect the feelings of those who did not choose to go to 
Fairyland, but if they wish to hear it, let us tell it in a 
spirit of charitable helpfulness, without the least suspicion 
of a boast. Tell them of twilight across Wooded Island, 
of the flashing into vision of the White City by the lake, 
of its sudden extinction, being one of the most startling 
incidents which the American continent has ever wit- 
nessed; also the exquisite material it furnished for the 
myth-making fancy. What a noble legend the Greeks 
would have made of it, on beholding such a city, had they 
made it. The tremendous prodigality of the thing was to 
the imagination most imposing, and it gave to us a rare 
conception of our nation and the city of Chicago, which 
could afford such a dizzy array of millions on a mere 
fleeting show, however useful and instructive. 

There was something captivating in the manner in 
which the principal promoters of the Fair attacked this 



24 

mammoth project. It was witli a self-asserting, youthful 
bravado which scorned at petty calculations, as to profit 
or loss, but first and last, let us remember that it was 
Chicago's Fair, for she afforded us practically, at her own 
expense, a great and noble spectacle, which all are richer 
for having seen. 

Never before was there crowded together such a wealth 
of achievements. 

Writers have given such fine descriptions of the build- 
ings, that I shrink from putting language to the strain 
of describing them, but their simple purity and grace 
comes before our vision and they are too lovely to be 
ignored. So grandly impressive, so richly beautiful, so 
appropriate and refined, that they have sunk so deeply 
into the mind as to remain a final and abiding memory. 

The classic facades, roofs and porticos were in delicious 
harmony. Each edifice had its own individuality, yet all 
ivere subordinate to the grand ensemble. When young 
w^e had glorious visions, which in soberer years we dis- 
missed as foolish and incapable of realization, but why 
was it when in the splendid Court of Honor gazing upon 
its monumental stateliness, the long majestic Peristyle, 
topped by the sculptured figures, reflected into the water^, 
that we felt an incomprehensible affinity to something we 
had read, seen or dreamed of. Was it in a previous ex- 
istence? But the Statue of the Republic, welcoming the 
nations, was distinctively new, and for that reason seemed 
^ trifle out of tune with the dream. 

An appeal to the imagination should not in the least 
disturb us, for plenty of illusion was furnished at night 
by electricity which transformed the perishable stuff into 
pure Parian marble, and a strange white light wove an 
enchantment over the scene, presenting it in ethereal 
beauty which seemed to belong to things not wholly of 
this earth, and gliding in and out over the quiet lagoons, 
an exquisite contentment possessed us, which was a feel- 



25 

ing akin to our young, happy days. We completely sur- 
rendered ourselves to the joyous moment, and delighted, 
accepted all it afforded. 

In a delirious dream of joy, we drifted about in a world 
of glorious lights, gazing in awe at Liberty, who was a 
mass of gold from the crown of her head to the soles of her 
feet. 

In the eastern arch of Administration, the statue of 
Columbus holding out the flag of Castile, seemed to quiver 
with life and in pride repeat, "This is my country, and I 
have returned to see it in grandeur undreamed of." 

On the dome of Agriculture, Diana danced in the breeze 
like a thing of life. Enchanted we gazed upon her, and 
waited for an arrow to whiz over our heads from her bow, 
or the MacMonnie^s Fountain, which flung into the air 
gorgeous columns of liquid fire, then colored spirals, glow- 
ing in intensest orange and green, then crept from the 
bottom, up over the tiny sprays, crimson, uniting in arches, 
then separating in a shower of silver, lastly forming into 
sheaves of golden wheat, which looked transparent as 
Venetian spun glass. 

It is perhaps ungracious to criticize, except favorably, 
the foreign buildings, but from a classical point of view, 
they seemed a trifle barbaric. Why should they not, as 
some were patterned after early renaissance. So these 
were eminently satisfactory after all. 

The Swedish Building was terribly fantastic and ex- 
hibited a vain chase after originality, but the German 
Building was a fine specimen of German renaissance. 
Turkey was intensely interesting, as were all the foreign 
buildings, especially India, built of rich foreign woods, 
finely carved. Among the State buildings none was more 
interesting, from a historic standpoint, than the Colonial 
Mansion of Massachusetts, with its quiet, simple archi- 
tecture. Within and without was felt that air of old- 
fashioned gentility, charged with puritanical remin- 



2^ 

iscence, that called up the shades of her great men and 
women, soldiers, historians, writers, and poets; and think- 
ing of the Winthrops, Standishes, and Endicotts, there 
came over us an agreeable sense of pride, as we remem- 
bered the age and dignity of American history, and we 
thrilled with yeneration as we gazed upon the cradle 
ornamented with red flowers, made by the village under- 
taker, which had rocked three or more generations of the 
Adams'. It was indeed a precious and a priceless relic. 

The Pennsylvania Building was of excellent refinement. 
Inaudible echoes of the American Revolution seemed to 
tremble in and about it, and the venerable old Libertv 
Bell, guarded day and night by two strong policemen, was 
a typical reminder, that vigilance is the price of liberty, 
and Dr. Johnson was wrong when he declared "Patriotism 
to be the last resort of the scoundrel." 

This State of distinct individuality may justly point to 
her past with pride. 

New York took a less conspicuous place in the Revolu- 
tion; hers was a stately gilded palace, fitted out with fur- 
niture, centuries old, which had been brought from Italy. 
It was the general opinion, that the banquet hall was al- 
most too grand to attempt to describe, and the richness and 
grandeur displayed here, as in every room in such fine 
taste, was made as evident as need be. Roswell P. Flowers' 
bust was on the outside of this building, so we took it for 
granted that he was the best type of intellect and states- 
manship New York could place on exhibition, and the 
inevitable judgment was, that they must have been par- 
ticularly proud of him. 

The buildings of Washington, North and South Dakota, 
impressed the spectator most vividly with their methods 
and usage of agricultural machinery; very great was the 
exhibit of the resources of the boundless West. In fact, 
we know all States did Avell, and it was a matter of con- 
jecture, especially regarding some States, which we had 



27 • 

better immigrate to. If we judged from the size of their 
ears of corn, huge pumpkius, squashes, potatoes, etc., it 
possibly would have beeu Iowa; for she, not content with 
her rare exhibition of truth-telling corn, which compoised 
the only corn palace on the grounds, caused some ears 
to be made in wax, measuring several inches about, and 
oyer three feet in length. The kernels were made normal 
size, and a card informed us that was the kind of corn 
they expected to raise in the near future. 

The Florida Building gave a commercial display, and 
bazaars were to be seen galore, where were advertised and 
sold her products. Small boys invested in young alliga- 
tors, and heartless dandies and foolish women invested in 
chameleons. 

The Missouri Building was a stately, beautiful home. 
The monastic Spanish type of the California Building im- 
mediately suggested the Convent of La RaBida, which in 
point of appropriateness, overtopped everything at the 
Fair. The Columbus relics, the primitive charts, maps, 
and paintings which illustrated the principal scenes in 
the life of the great navigator, brought us to a close real- 
ization of his mental equipment, and physical endurance. 
It seemed indeed the old Convent, and that every inch of 
its walls were cob-webbed and scrolled with murky leg- 
ends of those far off centuries. 

So often were we immersed in the past that we counted 
it no great feat to stride out of thousands of years ago, 
back into the present, perhaps to land in the Woman's or 
Children's Building, or find ourselves taking the Intra- 
mural Route, riding like mad, past Transportation, landing 
at the Forestry Building, and in a few moments be swal- 
lowed up in a deep cave composed of timbers and sheet- 
iron, where was found relics of the Cliff-dwellers. In 
some places it was dark, and upon running against a 
white be-whiskered Billy goat, which entangled itself in 
our feet, finally succeeding in laying us flat on Mother 



28 

Earth, expressions were then indulged in which must be 
kept dark also. The Billy goat was probably a genuine 
cliff-dwelling one, so was given free passage, and no doubt 
ages ago he rejoiced the souls and smoothed the rough 
paths of these anti-diluvians. 

But what an annihilating sense of insignificance over- 
whelms us at the realization of this endless procession of 
races which had preceded us and may succeed us. 

What an imperial destiny then is promised to mankind. 
What a dizzy outlook into a future of infinite perfectability, 
physically, mentally, and spiritually. This is the stuff 
which sanguine, confident hope is made of. A happy trust 
,ds that of the evolution of humanity, to ever higher condJ- 
! tions and nobler happiness, to come from century to cen- 
tury. It is blinded, pigmy souls who refuse to see this. 
Upon inspection of the Cliff-dwellers' clothing and utensils 
we seemingly caught a glimpse of what pathetically bare 
and hunted lives they must have led, pursuing and pur- 
sued, blindly following the law of self-preservation, which 
drove them up sheer cliffs and into the heart of the moun- 
tains. 

Appropriately near this place stood the Anthropological 
-Building, crowded with valuable exhibits, that if a year 
were spent there it would scarcely suffice to exhaust its 
interest. Those ancient Peruvian cemeteries where, in 
ghastly groups, sat or reclined hideous mummies, swathed 
and unswathed, making blood-curdling faces at each other. 
Some were screwed up into an expression of heart-rending 
mirth and I yet sometimes see them in my dreams. 

The Folk lore were intensely interesting, so 'tis a truth 
our prehistoric forefathers and mothers enjoyed games of 
cards and others which were very similar to ours of the 
present. 

One had to be a specialist in machinery to enjoy Ma- 
chinery Hall, it was too noisy and nerve-shattering; and 
but few would have any sympathy for the man who de- 



29 

Glared that the Corliss engine was more poetic than all 
the poets. We need not stop to tell of the steam engine 
being the most revolutionary agency in the world; but a 
few years from now possibly it can be stated that elec- 
tricity is a greater one than that of steam. 

In the Electricity Building there was less noise, but its 
mystery made it more formidable. This wonder-working- 
force done by a mysterious agency, which the best in- 
formed electricians cannot analyze to their, or our, satis- 
faction; but the outcome is sure to be something tre- 
mendous, and at present is incalculable. 

Railroads and telegraphs have consolidated empires, 
and are as yet the main spokes in the wheel of our civiliza- 
tion, but who can foretell the grand future of electricity? 

Three queer looking ships wxre moored in the lagoon 
near the Convent; they possessed ungainly prows and lofty 
poops with box-like sterns, which were there to remind us 
of the great Genoese navigator, in whose honor the great 
White City was reared. 

In seeming protest another ship was moored near the 
battleship Illinois, a protest against the name and date of 
the World's Columbian Exposition. The rakish Viking 
Ship, with its grinning dragon-like face for a prow, was 
there to tell that nearly five centuries before the Spanish 
discovery, a crew of hardy Norsemen had braved the fog 
of Arctic seas, and had brought back to their northern 
home the knowledge of a land across the ocean, where 
vines and all kinds of trees grew. 

It seemed that some fair Norwegian in whose veins 
flowed the blood of Lief Ericson should, too, have been the 
guest of our nation. Without doubt had Columbus sailed 
in the year 1000, instead of the year 1492, his effort might 
have been as barren of results as that of Ericson. No 
Spain could have then sent her soldiers forth to conquer, 
no chanting Dominicans would have followed in their 
wake, spreading Christianity, for before the actual dis- 



30 

covery of America was possible, Europe groped for cen- 
turies in mediaeval darkness. 

Then burst into light the sixteenth century. A light 
made lurid by the blood of persecution ; a light whose first 
rays were to guide the Genoese navigator to a new world. 
Great men and great deeds followed the centuries after 
Ericson's time, which hewed a path for Columbus and the 
Spaniards. 

We hurry by to the reign of the Crusaders, which opened 
new markets to trade. The galleys of Genoa and Venice 
sailed to Palestine with supplies, and returned with orien- 
tal products. Then was created the wealth of Italian 
cities, while in the north the monarchs freed themselves 
from the encroachments of barons. Then was welded the 
scattered elements of feudalism into nations; and the 
srreat towns of Italv and Germanv united in defensive 
leagues, threw off the bondage of robber lords, and created 
a commercial spirit which found its greatest triumph in 
the Columbian Exposition of 1893. 

And so we might go on in history, for it comes in close 
connection with the Fair, but appalled at a hint of such 
a proposal, we gladly return to the glorious present, to 
take our farewell of the "White Cits^," which was a beau- 
tiful pageant; and the memory of it will exercise an ele- 
vating influence, which will endure long beyond the pres- 
ent generation. 

We mourn over the desolation at South Park where 
once stood a city in a blaze of glory, but there is comfort 
in the thought, we did not have to see a gradual dilapida- 
tion take place, for in the end that would have been as 
melancholy a spectacle as it now is. 

If to-day we were privileged to wander once more 
through those spacious halls where lights have been extin- 
guished and guests have departed, would we not wander 
through them mourning the loss of what we once loved 



31 



almost with feelings akin to those arising from the loss of 
one whom we loved? 

So has vanished a darling joy, leaving in its wake deep 
and tender recollections, which, while life lasts, we'll cher- 
ish in the deepest recesses of our heart's affections. 

Farewell mystic city 

Of beauty so fair, 
For one which is grander 

And frees us from care. 




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